Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch this! It’s a game changer.
Two weeks after Harmonic Convergence, Republic City faces a crisis co-existing with the Spirit World. But that is overshadowed by the reappearance of Airbending abilities in Bumi and Daw! Meanwhile, a mysterious criminal also gains the power of Airbending, and uses it to escape a high security prison…
“A Breath of Fresh Air” is the 1st Chapter (episode) of Book 3 (Season 3) of The Legend of Korra. It’s set almost immediately after the events of Book 3, meaning that the world has yet to come to terms with the changes wrought by the merging of the Spirit World with the material world. Fittingly, this season is titled “Change,” reflecting not just the changes that the world has to adapt to, but also what Korra has to face as well.
In fact, almost all of the characters go through a major change – some grow up, some have to deal with new circumstances, and some have to deal with new powers. We also see the introduction of a new minor (I think) character, Daw, who isn’t very interesting but perhaps is a setup for a larger plotline. There conflict in this episode is between protagonists, which makes for an interesting, if somewhat less stimulating, interaction.
Highlights:
Bumi learns Airbending
Bumi was pretty useless in the previous season – granted, he’s the commander of some sort of army, but as a warrior himself, he doesn’t win too many battles. He’s overshadowed by the other Benders. That would be OK if not for the fact that he’s got an irritating personality, more annoying than charming (like Sokka). It’s mitigated this season by his acquisition of bending abilities. Now Bumi can carry his own weight and doesn’t have to be constantly rescued! We can finally ditch that sort of plot point in future episodes.
Mysterious villain at the end
The premise of this season is that Airbending has returned to the world – and it doesn’t distinguish between good and evil. Despite the fact that it’s only been around for two weeks, a villain (Zaheer) manages to master Airbending and break out of his prison at the end. It speaks to the lethality of this season’s antagonist – if he can learn so much in 2 weeks, how much more powerful will he become by the season’s climax?
Asami and Korra’s relationship
You never really get to see Asami and Korra interact, which is strange given that they both have had the same boyfriend (Mako) at some point. This episode addresses that, and builds on their relationship. Let’s hope we see more Asami-Korra moments in later episodes – it’s refreshing to see Korra embrace her feminine side, rather than always being “one of the guys.”
Letdowns:
President Raiko
President Raiko is a horribly aggravating cliche. He serves no purpose other than to embody everything that is wrong with bureaucracy. While there’s nothing bad in and of itself, it doesn’t serve any point other than providing social commentary. There’s no redeeming factor to President Raiko, thus inserting a flat stereotype in a world of fully rounded, well developed characters. It’s a glaring contrast that makes Raiko all the more dislikeable.
No major bending battle
Well, each episode begins with a visual of all four bending abilities, so it was disappointing to see there wasn’t a large bending fight. There is one at the end between Zaheer and his jailers, but since we don’t really know much about both, there’s no emotional grounding to that battle and we don’t really root for one side or the other to win.
Mako is useless
He seems quite watered down from his appearances in the previous 2 seasons. He was never a very deep or complex character to begin with, but he’s getting incredibly boring this season. He needs a season-long conflict, otherwise he’s also another character that doesn’t serve a proper purpose.
“A Breath of Fresh Air” lives up to its name – by providing a new focus for the entire season upfront, it sets the expectations for “Change” and also whets our appetite for more. What more can we learn about Airbending, with its return to the world? Who is that villain at the end that we’ve never heard of? And what other drastic changes will happen to our characters in Season 3?
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